Marietta Johanny (1894-1934)
}} Marietta Johanny grew up in Vienna where her father, Dr. Erich Johanny, was parson of the Evangelical Church from 1898 to 1912. Due to her father's position she was raised strictly and when she expressed her intentions of starting a career as an actress, her parents were completely against this. However, aged 18, immediately after her father's death, she was discovered by actor Albert Steinrück who was able to get her hired by the Volktheater of Vienna. She started with a small role in the play The Jester's Supper (La cena delle Beffe) by italian playwright Sem Benelli, where she had a long love scene. Her remarkable beauty immediately propelled her into the Vienna society. Marietta Johanny spent the summer of 1913, after her theatrical debut in Bad Ischl where she met British operatic tenor Alfred Piccaver, at that time at the beginning of his career. Alfred Piccaver fell in love with Marietta as soon as he saw her and immediately asked her to marry him. The young couple settled in a fashionable neighborhood in Vienna. Being extremely jealous, Alfred forbid his wife to return on stage. The marriage soon got into trouble as Alfred Piccaver refused to pay the excessive bills of Marietta's dressmaker. In later comments about his early marriage, Alfred Piccaver stated that "this woman is too expensive for a single man". The couple divorced soon afterwards. In 1916, Marietta Johanny was cast in one of the main characters of the film "Bogdan Stimoff". The film, presented as a patriotic play from Bulgaria, was a German-Austrian-Bulgarian co-production directed by Georg Jacoby. It is remarkable because the royal family of Bulgaria: King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Queen Eleonore, Princess Eudoxia and Princess Nadezhda of Bulgaria (1899-1958) all played themselves in different parts of the movie, the only film in which this ever occurred. The film was released in April 1916 in Bulgaria and on 10 May 1916 in Vienna and was a big hit. At the same time, Marietta had an active social life. Even before her divorce from Albert Piccaver, she had an affair with Hungarian actor Gabriel Pascal (1881-1954), whom she had met in Bulgaria, during the filming of Bogdan Stimoff. This relationship did not last very long. Wien 1, Dorotheergasse 18 - Die schönste Wienerin http://wienhistorisch.blogspot.com/2013/12/wien-1-dorotheergasse-18-die-schonste.html She then got involved with Hungarian racehorse breeder Baron Szemzö von Kamjonka and with Hungarian landowner Baron Jakabffy, who wanted to divorce and marry her. Die Bühne, Nr.1, 1924 In 1919, Jakabffy's wife, traveled from Budapest to Vienna and attacked Marietta with sulfuric acid in the lobby of Hotel Sacher. According to a later article the attack would have been carried out by Baron Szemzö von Kamjonka's wife. This is less probable, taking into account the closeness of Marietta with Jakabffy at that time. Luckily, Marietta was wearing a very big hat which protected her face from being disfigured. Following the attack, Marietta had to stay in hospital for a lenghty treatment but was able to fully recover. The story is fictionally presented in Dorothea Zeemann's novel "Dar heimliche Fest" (The secretive party). It is mostly believed that following the attack, Jakabffy's plans to marry Marietta were canceled. Some newspaper articles claim that she married baron Jakobffy and shortly thereafter divorced. Das interessante Blatt 22 Jul. 1920Harold Vanderbilt to wed Baroness three time divorced, says Vienna paper - New York Times, 14 Jul 1920 This is also improbable, as, after her release from hospital she immediately got involved with Romanian Baron Alexandru de Stârcea, who covered all her hospital bills. Baron Stârcea was extremely wealthy and owned extensive agricultural and forest lands in Bukowina Marietta and baron Stârcea got married immediately. Stârcea gave up his residence on Prinz-Eugen Street in Vienna and moved to Paris. The pair spent their time commuting between Paris, Monte Carlo and Biarritz. However, Marietta soon became bored and as soon as July 1920 rumors started that she was looking for new adventures and was engaged to American billionaire Harold Vanderbilt. This marriage never materialized but Marietta and baron Stârcea were soon divorced. Alexandru Stârcea returned to Romania and never returned to Paris or to Vienna again. Marietta Johanny continued to stay in Monte Carlo and, after some time, she was frequently seen in the company of Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster one of the wealthiest men in the world at that time. The Duke was in the final stages of his second divorce and rumors immediately started about an imminent marriage with Marietta. However the Duke was less decided than the press had initially believed and in 1925 other news articles showed that other beauties were also competing for the Duke's favorsStrange Battel of the Pets of Paris for the Dashing Duke - The Evening Independent, 28 Feb. 1925. At the end, the Duke settled for an affair with Coco Chanel and Marietta Johanny was forced to abandon her dreams of a new marriage. There are few data on her life after 1925, which seems to have significantly calmed down. Devoid of means she started taking drugs and became completely destitute. She tried to renew contact with baron Stârcea and traveled to Bucovina, presumably to meet him. She died, on 20 Nov 1934, age 45, alone in the hospital of Cernăuți of a morphine overdose Das interessante Blatt 29 Nov. 1934 References Category:Drug-related deaths